Longer school day is closer

The school administration is moving ahead to apply for state money to extend the school day, and the move comes with uncertain support from parents.

The School Committee Tuesday voted unanimously to support the administration, a vote that was not required but which School Superintendent Gregory M. Ciardi sought “because this issue affects the community.”

“I think the time is right for us to do better by the next generation,” Mr. Ciardi said.

The School Department, at the invitation of the state Department of Education, last year applied for and received a $10,000 grant to study making the school day longer.

After a year of study, the School Department next week will apply for about $2.6 million in state funds under a program called School Redesign: Expanding Learning Time to Support Student Success.

Mr. Ciardi said the plan is to extend the school day by an hour and a half for Grades 3 through 6 at Webster Middle School and Grades 7 and 8 at Bartlett Junior-Senior High School. Park Avenue Elementary School will not participate. That is a 20 percent increase in the school day.

Of 265 teachers in the schools, 87 responded to a survey on the extended day, with 48 percent supporting it, 20 percent opposing it, and 32 percent unsure.

Of 631 parents who answered surveys sent home with their children, 52 percent were opposed, 34 percent supported it, and 14 percent were unsure.

Mr. Ciardi said yesterday the survey results were expected.

“Those results track pretty closely with national polls on the same issue. In general we have slightly more half opposed and the other half split between ‘for’ and ‘want to know more.’ The community fits within the national opinion about changing the school day or the school year. It’s neutral enough not to shut down the effort based on the surveys,” he said.

Mr. Ciardi told the School Committee Tuesday that effective teaching and learning take time and the longer day would provide that time for teachers and students. “It’s an opportunity and a chance to redesign the school day.”

He said the longer day would allow the schools to return to subjects and activities such as creative writing, laboratory sciences, band and conversational languages that have been “driven out” by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System’s focus on mathematics, English language arts and science.

MCAS may give students essential skills, he said, “but they are not enough to succeed in the 21st century.”

While MCAS scores of public school students here have generally improved, they still fall below state averages, according to Mr. Ciardi.

Webster Middle School has been designated a school in need of restructuring if it doesn’t mean yearly progress requirements, because student MCAS scores in mathematics are not improving fast enough, according to Mr. Ciardi.

If the school misses the progress mark next year, it must make “significant change,” with one option being a longer school day.

“None of us is happy with the lack of (MCAS) progress,” committee member Michael Makara said in support of the grant application. “If we don’t do this, what are we going to do to help our kids?”

But four parents of children in the public schools told the committee Tuesday they didn’t think the School Department should do it.

James W. Bazinet of Pond Court and David A. Kane of Emerald Avenue both said they believed an extension of the school day would be disruptive to families and should be put to a town vote.

Lawrence Patriarca of Hartley Street said there was “not a shred of evidence of proof it will have any benefit.”

He also said that Webster’s MCAS scores are improving.

“Help the kids that need the help and leave the other kids alone,” he said.